German Ambassador Jäger on Orban’s visit to Russia: His actions are not in line with EU rules

The visit of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban does not comply with the rules of the European Union.

This was stated by German Ambassador to Ukraine Martin Jager in an interview with Suspilne, Censor.NET reports.

"I believe that if you belong to a club, you have to play by the rules. What the Hungarian prime minister has done is not in line with these rules. The presidency of the EU Council does not speak for the European Union and has no mandate to act abroad on its behalf. This means that either misunderstandings have arisen, or perhaps it was provoked deliberately. Hungary should not abuse the role of the EU Council presidency," the diplomat said.

Jäger also believes that the cancellation of Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto's visit to Germany was wrong.

"I think it happened because he had to make a sudden trip to China with Mr Orban. This should not happen between friends and partners," the ambassador added.

Read more: Meloni on Orban’s "peaceful" meetings: I see neither strategy nor consequences

Viktor Orbán's visits to Moscow and Beijing

To recap, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban visited Kyiv on 2 July and met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

On 5 July, Orban paid an official visit to Moscow. In the Russian capital, he met with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.

During a joint press conference with Putin, Orban made several statements about Russia's war against Ukraine. In particular, he stressed that Kyiv and Moscow's positions on peace are "very far apart".

Orban arrived in the Chinese capital Beijing on Monday, 8 July, as part of his "peacekeeping mission".

In turn, a number of European leaders reacted rather sharply to the Hungarian prime minister's visit to Moscow. They stressed that Orban did not represent the EU in Russia during his meeting with Putin.